Assange can’t be charged says US justice ministry

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is unlikely to face charges in the US for publishing top secret documents.

The Justice Department concluded it will not bring charges against Assange for publishing classified documents. The move comes as government lawyers said they could not do so without also prosecuting US news organizations and journalists, US officials said.

According to the Washington Post, the officials stressed a formal decision has not been made, and a grand jury investigating WikiLeaks remains impaneled.

They added there is little possibility of bringing a case against Assange, unless he is implicated in criminal activity other than releasing military and diplomatic documents. The Obama administration has charged government employees Edward Snowden and Bradley Manning for leaking classified documents with violations of the Espionage Act. But officials said although Assange published classified documents, he did not leak them.